Ezekiel 3

REVIEW QUESTIONS

In what way did the Holy Spirit aid Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2:2)?

Did Ezekiel actually consume a scroll?

What is meant by the title son of man? What did Jesus mean by applying this title to himself?

In what respect are those who hear God’s word today like the audience to whom Ezekiel preached?

Why did God tell Ezekiel so frequently not to be afraid?

If Ezekiel’s ministry would largely be futile, why did God send him to preach?

What may have been symbolized by the fact that the scroll was written on front and back?

How can you account for the sweetness of the scroll?

How can you account for the communication problems which Ezekiel would face in his ministry?

In what ways did God prepare Ezekiel to meet the hostile audiences in Babylon ?

Why was Ezekiel bitter when he was caught away from the presence of the throne-chariot?

Why did Ezekiel sit in silence seven days among the captives of Tel-abib?

Explain the teaching of Ezekiel regarding the individual responsibility of man.

What kind of death is threatened against those who fail to heed the warnings of God’s Watchman?

What is the origin of the Watchman concept in the Old Testament?

In what sense and for what purpose does God place a stumblingblock in the path of righteous man?

In what sense was Ezekiel to be dumb and bound with fetters?

Ezekiel 3:1-3

II. THE PREPARATION FOR SERVICE 2:8-3:15

Following the call to service, God begins a process of education to prepare this man for the assigned task. Three steps can be distinguished in this educational process. (1) The prophet needed to assimilate the message of God (Ezekiel 2:8 to Ezekiel 3:3); (2) he needed assurance of divine power (Ezekiel 3:4-9); and (3) he needed a correct assessment of his future congregation (Ezekiel 3:10-15).

A. Assimilation of the Word 2:8-3:3

TRANSLATION

(8) And as for you, son of man, hear that which I am about to speak unto you. Do not be rebellious like the rebellious house. Open your mouth, and eat that which I am about to give you. (9) And I saw, and behold a hand was extended unto me, and behold in it the roll of a book. (10) And he spread it before me, and it was written on front and back. And there was written on it lamentations, mourning and woe. (1) And He said unto me, Son of man, eat that which you discover; eat this roll and go speak unto the house of Israel. (2) And I opened my mouth, and he fed me this roll, (3) And he said unto me, Son of man, your belly shall eat and your inward parts shall be full with this roll which I am giving unto you. And I ate it, and it became in my mouth like honey for sweetness.

COMMENTS

A strange command is issued to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 2:8. The Lord prepares the prophet for this command by a warning not to be rebellious like the house of Israel. Then he was told to eat that which God was about to give him. Once again God forestalls any reluctance on Ezekiel’s part by these words of warning. Disobedience here would mark Ezekiel as no better than the rebellious house of Israel to which he was to preach (Ezekiel 2:8).

The stage was set for this initial test of obedience. A hand came forth to him from the throne-chariot. The hand was either that of one of the cherubim, or that of the One on the throne itself. The hand contained a roll of a book, i.e., a scroll (Ezekiel 2:9).[110] Scrolls were made of animal skins or papyrus. By sewing many pieces of these materials together, a scroll of twenty feet or more in length might be constructed. Three things are said about this scroll.

[110] Cf. Jeremiah 1:9 where in vision God stretched forth His hand and put His Word in Jeremiah’s mouth.

1. The scroll contained writing. The ancients regarded the written word as far more definite and unalterable than the spoken word. The writing on the scroll was God’s authoritative Word for the children of Israel. The writing was on the scroll before Ezekiel received it. The message he would preach originated with God. It was a written word a fixed and unchangeable divine declaration.

2. The scroll was somewhat unusual in that it contained writing on both sides. Normally scrolls were inscribed on only one side. Is there symbolic significance in this fact? Perhaps it simply means that God had a lot to say to His people through Ezekiel. On the other hand, maybe the scroll was completely in scribed so as to eliminate the possibility of Ezekiel adding anything to the divinely received message.[111] Then again, perhaps the writing on front and back symbolized the abundance of the calamities which would befall Jerusalem.[112], [113]

[111] Ellison, EMM, p. 28.

[112] Currey, BC, p. 27.

[113] Unlikely is Fineberg’s suggestion (PE, p. 26) that the front side of the scroll symbolizes truths of a more obvious nature, the backside those of a more concealed nature.

3. The content of the scroll consisted of lamentation, mourning and woe (Ezekiel 2:10).[114] Until the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. Ezekiel preached a message of doom such as might be character ized as lamentation, mourning and woe. The scroll thus set forth prophetically what would shortly befall Jerusalem and Judah.

[114] Ehrlich suggests that lamentation, mourning, and woe was the heading of the scroll. Cited in Fisch, SBB, p. 12.

The command came to eat this roll. The word of God must be internalized, digested and assimilated by that one who would serve as God’s messenger.[115] Thus the eating of the scroll would symbolize the reception of the word. Coming on the heels of the command to eat the scroll is the command to go speak unto the house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:1). Immediately following the reception of the word there must be the proclamation of it.

[115] Thus while the passage clearly teaches verbal inspiration, it does not set forth mechanical dictation. The message had to be assimilated before annunciated in the prophet’s own unique way.

Ezekiel attempted to comply with the Lord’s command. He took the first step. He opened his mouth. At this point the gracious God intervened and aided in the consumption of the document (Ezekiel 2:2). Further encouragement came from the Lord to the effect that Ezekiel should swallow and digest the scroll that he had been given. Ezekiel complied. Much to his surprise he found that this scroll tasted sweet like honey (Ezekiel 2:3). This sweetness in no way indicates that Ezekiel took some morbid delight in his message of doom. Rather the sweetness of the scroll lay in the fact that it was the Word of God.[116]

[116] Cf. Psalms 19:10; Psalms 119:103: Jeremiah 15:16.

It is scarcely necessary to say that Ezekiel did not actually eat a literal scroll. This action was done in a vision. A person does strange things in dreams, and so it was also in this heaven-sent vision, The point is that Ezekiel must familiarize himself with the word of God by reading the scroll as eagerly and attentively as one eats food to satisfy hunger. The fact that God caused him to eat the scroll may point to supernatural aid which the prophet received in comprehending and mentally preserving the minutest detail of this unpleasant message.

Ezekiel 3:4-9

B. Assurance of Divine Power 3:4-9

TRANSLATION

(4) And He said unto me, Son of man, go unto the house of Israel and speak with My words unto them (5) For you have not been sent unto a people of obscure language and heavy tongue, but unto the house of Israel. (6) Not unto many people of obscure language and heavy tongue whose words YOU cannot comprehend. Surely if I had sent you unto them, they would hearken unto you. (7) But as for the house of Israel, they are not willing to hearken unto you, because they are not willing to hearken unto Me; for all the house of Israel are strong of forehead and hard of heart. (8) Behold I have made your face strong against their face and your forehead strong against their forehead. (9) Like a diamond[117] harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not fear them and do not be dismayed before them, for they are a rebellious house.

[117] The Hebrew word samir is rendered diamond in Jeremiah 17:1, adamant in Zechariah 7:12.

COMMENTS

The command to go to the captives with the word is repeated in Ezekiel 3:4: Go. speak. Here it is said that he is to preach with My words. He is to convey God’s message to them in the very tongue in which he had received it. The exiles were beginning to use the Aramaic tongue of the Chaldeans, but they would still be familiar with the Hebrew.

Unlike Jonah, Ezekiel is not being sent to a people whose language was utterly incomprehensible. The expression obscure language means literally, deep of lip. The same expression is found in Isaiah 33:19 where it refers to a foreign language which cannot be comprehended. Heavy tongue is a tongue which is sluggish and dull (cf. Exodus 4:10), or one which is tiresome to understand. Many foreigners were in Babylon. Communication with them would not be easy.

Lack of communication between Ezekiel and his audience would not be due to any language barrier. It was to the house of Israel his own compatriots to whom he is sent (Ezekiel 3:5). But this in no way will aid the communication process. Foreigners would readily listen in spite of the problem of language (Ezekiel 3:6). But not the house of Israel. Sometimes the home missionary has a more difficult task than he who ventures into foreign lands to preach the Gospel in exotic tongues. Strange languages are more easily mastered than the technique of communicating with those with unbelieving hearts. The exiles would not be willing to listen to what Ezekiel had to say because they had no interest in hearing what God had to say. As a matter of fact, Ezekiel’s chances of getting through to his audience would have been greater if he were speaking to people with a hard language rather than a hard heart (Ezekiel 3:6).

Nothing personal would be involved in Israel’s rejection of the message of Ezekiel. The basic problem with the house of Israel was that they had no interest in hearing what God had to say. The people would show an aversion to Ezekiel simply because he was the bearer of the divine word. After all, these people were strong of forehead and hard of heart, i.e., impudent and stubborn (Ezekiel 3:7). Therefore, the opposition which Ezekiel was warned to expect was not to be regarded as unusual or directed against him personally. They were deaf to the voice of God which had spoken through various natural disasters, as well as through His human spokesmen. It was therefore unlikely that they would give any heed to Ezekiel.

The first hurdle which Ezekiel would have to overcome would be the natural fear which would arise over the prospects of preaching an unpopular message to an unsympathetic multitude. With such courage Ezekiel will be endowed by God. The Lord would make Ezekiel’s face strong against their face, and his forehead strong against their forehead (Ezekiel 3:8). The latter figure is taken from horned animals which vie for supremacy by butting heads. Ezekiel would be able to match their obstinacy with sanctified stubbornness of his own. He would be as zealous for truth as they were for falsehood. They were as hard as flint, he would be as hard as a diamond.[118] Ezekiel’s firmness would cut like a diamond into the flint-like hearts of the men of Israel. Therefore, Ezekiel need have no fear nor be dismayed before that rebellious people (Ezekiel 3:9). How appropriate was this prophet’s name, Ezekiel God strengthens or God hardens.

[118] The diamond is much harder than flint, and in fact was used to cut flint. See Currey, BC p. 28.

Ezekiel 3:10-15

C. Assessment of the Congregation 3:10-15

TRANSLATION

(10) And He said unto me, Son of man, all My words which I shall speak unto you receive into your heart, and with your ears hear. (11) And go unto the captives, unto the children of your people and speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they desist. (12) Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of great shaking Blessed be the glory of the LORD from His place (13) even the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching each other, and the sound of the wheels beside them, even the sound of great shaking. (14) And the Spirit lifted me up, and took me so that I came with bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. (15) And I came unto the captives at Tel-abib who were dwelling beside the river Chebar, and to where they dwelt.[119] And I sat there seven days astonished in their midst.

[119] Another reading, which involves a change in the Hebrew text, is, and I sat where they were sitting.

COMMENTS

The first priority of any preacher is to be attune to the Word of God, God called upon Ezekiel to hear all the words which He would speak to him. He must not only hear them with the ears, he must also receive them into his heart. He must understand and believe the message he is to preach. All My words that I shall speak (Ezekiel 3:10) suggests that there would be future revelations which the prophet would also have to assimilate and subsequently announce. It is interesting to note that God would communicate to Ezekiel in words, not just in abstract thought and ambiguous visions. Here is verbal revelation.

Once Ezekiel understood the divine word and personally yielded to it, he would be prepared to undertake his mission to the Babylonian captives. He must go to them and speak to them that which God had spoken to him. He was not to be influenced by their reactions to his words. His job was to faithfully proclaim the word. He was to speak authoritatively. A thus says the Lord was to characterize all of his preaching. He was to preach on regardless of whether or not they gave heed. There may be a touch of irony in the expression your people, rather than My (God’S) people (Ezekiel 3:11).

At this point the Holy Spirit lifted Ezekiel up to whisk him from this mountain top of visionary experience to the valley of prophetic service. This is the first of several places in the book where the prophet describes his supernatural transports. Ezekiel was still in the midst of his visionary experience. Neither psychic levitation nor physical transposition is being described here. In his vision Ezekiel experienced a subjective feeling of being airborne, much like the feeling one has in a dream of soaring through the air.

The prophet had been in the presence of the theophany the visionary throne-chariot during all that has been narrated to this point (Ezekiel 1:4 to Ezekiel 3:12). When he was lifted up and carried away it seemed to Ezekiel that he was leaving the theophany behind.

Simultaneous with the Holy Spirit entering Ezekiel, the magnificent throne-chariot departed the scene. As it did so, the sound of a great shaking was heard. A voice pronouncing a blessing on the glory of the Lord accompanied the shaking noise. This voice is unidentified, but it is probably the voice which was heard from above the firmament in Ezekiel 1:24-25. It is also possible that Ezekiel heard the voice of the cherubim praising the Lord.[120] The phrase from His place (Ezekiel 3:12) is problematical. It probably refers to the place where the glory of God revealed itself in the vision.[121] To state the matter differently, the glory of the Lord yet remained in the place from which it was departing because His place is universal.[122]

[120] Blackwood imagines that the throbbing pulsations of the cherubim seemed to chant this doxology.

[121] Currey, BC, p. 28.

[122] Another view is that His place refers to Jerusalem.

The sound of great shaking of Eze 3:12 is identified in Ezekiel 3:13. As the throne-chariot departed Ezekiel heard the whirring of the wings of the living creatures and the rumble of the wheels. When the throne-chariot was stationary, the living creatures did not touch each other. But when they were in flight the cherubim raised their wings so as to touch each other. See on Ezekiel 1:11.

After the departure of the throne-chariot Ezekiel describes what happened to him in these words: the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away (Ezekiel 3:14). This does not mean that Ezekiel was miraculously transported from one spot to another in Mesopotamia. Rather it means that Ezekiel, guided and impelled by the Holy Spirit, went forth among his countrymen. It is implied that the site of the vision was some distance from the exile settlement, for it is to the latter place that Ezekiel now returned.

In Ezekiel 3:14 Ezekiel describes his feelings as he departed the scene of his visionary experience. He went in bitterness,[123]* in the heat of my spirit.* Anger, then, was the dominant emotion in his heart at this moment. But why did he feel this way? Was he resentful at having been thrust into such a terrifying task? Possibly. But it is more likely that the word of the Lord which had been eaten and digested had created within him a righteous anger against the sin of Israel.[124]

[123] The Hebrew mar (bitter) can express fierce temper, discontentment or wretchedness,

[124] Fisch (SBB, p. 15) thinks the meaning is that Ezekiel was deeply distressed over having to deliver such a calamitous message. The heat of my spirit he explains as descriptive of the state of exaltation which he felt as the result of his vision. This interpretation is rather forced.

Not only was Ezekiel filled with God’s indignation, he was conscious of being strengthened and guided by the hand of the Lord (Ezekiel 3:14).[125] Even though the vision was over, he still felt that the unseen hand was very definitely upon him.

[125] The purpose of the hand of God was not, as Fisch (SBB, p. 15) contends, to counteract the reluctance of the prophet.

Following the visionary experience Ezekiel rejoined his fellow captives in Tel-abib, the chief center of the exiles in Babylon. The name Tel-abib means heap of grain ears, and the place probably got its name from the fertility of the area.[126]

[126] Others interpret the name to mean mount of the flood. The name has been resurrected for the name of the largest city in the modern state of Israel Tel Aviv.

For seven days he sat there astonished. Keil understands the term to mean motionless and dumb. This was a time for reflection, meditation and readjustment. Various explanations of the seven days have been given. This was the period of prescribed mourning in certain periods of Old Testament history (Job 2:13). The period for the consecration of a priest was also seven days (Leviticus 8:33). Thus Ezekiel may have regarded this period as his time of personal consecration to the prophetic office. The simplest explanation, however, is that Ezekiel was waiting for further instruction which he subsequently received. There would then be no particular significance in the number seven.

Ezekiel 3:16-21

III. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SERVICE 3:16-21

TRANSLATION

(16) And it came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (17) Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Hear the word from My mouth and give them warning from Me. (18) When I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and you do not warn him nor speak to preserve his life, he is the wicked one who shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will seek from your hand. (19) But as for you, when you warn a wicked one and he does not turn from his wickedness and from his wicked way, he in his iniquity shall die, but as for you, your life you have delivered. (20) And when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not warn him in his sin he shall die, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will seek from your hand. (21) But as for you, if you warn a righteous man that a righteous man does not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he has been warned and as for you, you have delivered your life.

COMMENTS

Beginning in Ezekiel 3:16 the focus shifts from the national to the individual aspects of Ezekiel’s mission. In the midst of the general visitation which would fall upon the nation as a whole, each individual was to stand before the Lord to have his faith and works rewarded or punished. This passage underscores the basic moral principle that each man is individually responsible for his own conduct. Another principle enunciated here is that God’s messengers must face up to the responsibility to warn all men of the consequences of their ways.

At the end of the seven days of silence, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, i.e., he had another revelation from God (Ezekiel 3:16). He learned in this revelation that God had appointed him to be a watchman for the house of Israel.[127] Watchman was not a new name for the prophet of God, but it was not common. Yet it is used at the beginning of Ezekiel’s commissioning and is repeated and amplified at his recommissioning in Ezekiel 33:1-9. Evidently the term brings out a prominent feature of Ezekiel’s ministry. Ellison puts his finger on this feature when he notes that Ezekiel was not merely to be God’s messenger to the people in general; he was to be God’s messenger to the individual in particular.[128] He was to be a personal evangelist as well as a public orator. While it is true that only the facts of his public ministry have been preserved, this in no wise nullifies the conclusion here reached. Ezekiel was to engage in a pastoral ministry such as priests in Old Testament times were supposed to perform.[129] The chief contribution of Ezekiel to Old Testament theology is his emphasis on individual responsibility.

[127] Earlier usage of the Watchman concept Isaiah 21:6; Isaiah 52:8; Isaiah 62:6; Habakkuk 2:1; Jeremiah 6:17, A fuller description of the watchman phase of Ezekiel’s ministry M found in chapter 33,

[128] Ellison, EMM p. 28.

[129] See Leviticus 10:14, Deuteronomy 24:8 Malachi 2:7; 2 Chronicles 17:7 ff

In his capacity as Watchman Ezekiel was to wait and watch for the word from the mouth of God and warn the people of impending calamity (Ezekiel 3:17). The life and safety of a community was in the hand of a city watchman. So also the life and safety of the people of God was in the hands of Ezekiel. Four different cases are discussed so that Ezekiel might clearly assess his responsibility as Israel’s Watchman.

1. Case One Watchman failing to warn the wicked. In his Watchman’s role Ezekiel would encounter two types of individuals. First, he would encounter the wicked, those destined to die for the sin they had committed. Ezekiel’s job was to warn him. of his wicked way, i.e., of the consequences of continuing his wicked course of conduct. The wicked would be those who do not serve God, but on the contrary, live in open defiance of Him.

Ezekiel is told that the penalty for the wicked is death. He shall die in his iniquity (Ezekiel 3:18). Most commentators see nothing more involved here than the end of physical life. It should be noted that it is not Ezekiel who here speaks; it is the Lord. The question is not, then, what was the level of understanding of the doctrine of retribution or the doctrine of the afterlife in the sixth century. Still less is the full meaning of the utterance to be determined by ascertaining how Ezekiel or his contemporaries may have interpreted the word die. The teaching of the Bible is that those who die unforgiven die for all eternity in a conscious existence elsewhere known as the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). That a premature death may also be involved cannot be denied. But to contend that premature death exhausts the meaning of the statement is to disregard the total Biblical teaching that eternal retribution follows the physical death of the wicked.

If the prophet fails to faithfully and forthrightly sound the alarm he will be held accountable for the death of that sinner his blood I will seek from your hand (Ezekiel 3:18). Note the change in Ezekiel 3:18 from them to him the individual. The teaching here harks back to the principle expressed in Genesis 9:5 f. Just as the blood of a murdered man demanded retribution by the nearest kinsman on the murderer, so a man dying unwarned would be regarded virtually as the victim of murder committed by the unfaithful Watchman. Though this utterance is metaphorical, it nonetheless emphasizes the enormous responsibility which was Ezekiel’S. Is the Christian responsibility to warn the lost of this generation any less?

2. Case Two Non-repentant wicked. Nothing but good can result from the discharge of responsibility to warn the wicked. If he heeds the warning and alters his course of conduct he will live, i.e., save his soul. If he refuses, he will suffer the con sequences of death. But the messenger thereby has done his duty and thus delivered his own life of blood-guiltiness (Ezekiel 3:19). An important principle of Old Testament jurisprudence is illustrated in this passage: The failure to save life corresponds to murder.

3. Case Three The straying righteous man. On occasion Ezekiel would encounter a man whose basic orientation was righteous but who momentarily had strayed from the path of fidelity. Sometimes God permits a stumblingblock to be placed before such a one some trial, some difficulty, some opportunity for sin. For an example of such a stumblingblock see Ezekiel 7:19 and Ezekiel 44:12. It is true that God tempts no man in order to bring about his destruction. But through His providence and permissive will He allows men to be tried that their faith may be found true. Stumbling was not inevitable. A moral choice was always involved, Furthermore, God provided the Watchman to warn where the stumblingblocks were located,

In such difficulties those who were superficially pious might succumb and depart from the path of righteousness. In such an event the past righteous acts[130] of the man would not be remembered. To neglect to warn such a one would result in his death and the Watchman’s guilt (Ezekiel 3:20).

[130] The verb is plural. I n the marginal notes of the Hebrew Bible the Masoretic scribes suggest that the noun should also b e read a s a plural.

4. Case Four: The righteous man who heeds. If a righteous man who had stumbled into sin repented he would thereby save his soul. In any case the Watchman is free from any responsibility so long as he sounded the alarm (Ezekiel 3:21).

Ezekiel 3:22-27

IV. THE RESTRICTION ON SERVICE 3:22-27

TRANSLATION

(22) And the hand of the LORD came upon me there, and He said unto me, Rise, go out into the plain, and there I will speak with you. (23) And I arose and went out unto the plain, and behold there the glory of the I,ORD was standing as the glory which I saw beside the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. (24) And the Spirit came on me and made me stand upon my feet, and He spoke to me, and said unto me, Go shut yourself up in the midst of your house. (25) And as for you, son of man, behold fetters will be placed upon you, and you shall not go out in their midst. (26) And your tongue shall cleave unto the roof of your mouth so that you will be dumb and you shall not become to them a man of reproof for they are a rebellious house. (27) But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD. The one who hears, let him hear, and the one who desists let him desist; for they arc a rebellious house.

COMMENTS

The protracted period of commissioning comes to an end in this paragraph.[131], [132] Following the lesson at Tel-abib the hand of the Lord, i.e., the power and guiding influence of God,[133] came upon Ezekiel. He was told to go out into the plain. There God would teach Ezekiel yet another lesson about his ministry (Ezekiel 3:22). The word plain means literally valley, the area between two mountains. This may well have been a site frequented by Ezekiel in his periods of solitude.[134] It may well have been in this same valley that Ezekiel later received his vision of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1).

[131] According to the great Jewish commentator Kimchi, none of the incidents in Chapter s 1-11 were performed, but were only suggested to Ezekiel in his vision. According to this view, Ezekiel 3:22-27 serves as introduction to Chapter s 4-24.

[132] Some commentators postulate a time gap between Ezekiel 3:21 and Ezekiel 3:22 during which Ezekiel conducted a ministry as a Watchman. The chronology of the book doe not allow for a significant interval at this point.

[133] Cf. Blachwood (EPH, p. 54) who thinks the hand of the Lord refers to an inward, spiritual experience. Blackwood follows Davidson in contending that Ezekiel’s trip to the plain did not involve any physical motion.

[134] Taylor. TOTC, p. 72.

Ezekiel complied with the divine command. When he reached the designated spot he saw a second vision of the glory of the Lord. The vision was very much like that which he had seen by the Chebar. While modern commentators seem to focus on the various aspects of the heavenly throne-chariot the wheels and living creatures Ezekiel sums up the whole of that vision by his reference to the One who rode the chariot the glory of the Lord. As on the earlier occasion, Ezekiel reacted to this majestic manifestation by falling on his face (Ezekiel 3:23). Again the Holy Spirit entered into Ezekiel giving him the strength and confidence to stand on his feet.

Ezekiel now received a new command. He was told to shut himself within his house (Ezekiel 3:24). There he would be bound with fetters (Ezekiel 3:25). NO evidence exists that Ezekiel was ever literally bound by his auditors. The fetters must be symbolic or metaphorical of self-imposed (or God-imposed) restraint. It would appear that Ezekiel’s movements outside his house were to be severely restricted, if not actually curtailed.

Divine restrictions were placed upon the speech of Ezekiel as well as on his movements. His tongue would cleave unto the roof of his mouth. Because of the rebelliousness of the house of Israel the prophet should and would be silent. During that period of self-imposed (or God-imposed) dumbness he would not serve as a man of reproof to them. This ministry of silence seems to have been intended to demonstrate to the exiles that they were indeed a rebellious house (Ezekiel 3:26)[135]

[135] Keil (SCOT, I. 65) suggests that the silence also was designed to help prepare Ezekiel for the successful performance of his ministry.

The interpretation of the present paragraph is extremely difficult. The problem lies not so much in what is said though that is difficult enough but in the timing of it. How can the previous commands to preach the word be squared with the thought that Ezekiel was to be dumb? How can his being bound with cords be harmonized with subsequent Chapter s which show him moving about freely? Those who have wrestled with these questions may be divided into two broad categories. First, there are those who think in terms of a literal period of silence. Even among those who hold to a literal period of silence at least four different positions have been taken 1 Some think the episode is chronologically out of place and that this command in reality was issued after chapter 24. The passage has been placed in its present position because of topical considerations, It does, after all, partake of the nature of a commission. 2 Others would suggest that there was a period of dumbness prior to the launching of the ministry of proclamation. This would be the obvious solution to the problem were it not for the difficulty of finding time for such a period of dumbness in the known chronology of Ezekiel’s life. 3 David Kimchi offered the intriguing suggestion that the silence was divinely imposed so as to prevent Ezekiel from speaking until he had received the entire revelation which God reveals in Chapter s 1-11. In other words, he was not to speak prematurely. 4. Finally, there are those who suggest that the silence was the first of a series of prophecies which Ezekiel acted out. A second broad category of commentators see the fetters on Ezekiel as symbolic or metaphorical. These scholars see the restraint upon the prophet as a symbol of the extreme and bitter opposition of his fellow exiles to his prophesying. Ezekiel was to preach, but the exiles would not listen. Since no real communication would take place, it would be as though Ezekiel were dumb. Still others interpret the entire passage as saying simply that Ezekiel would refuse to speak to his neighbors about ordinary matters. He would speak only when he had a divine revelation. In view of this plethora of interpretations, what can be said about the true import of this passage? Taken at face value the words seem to mean that Ezekiel would only communicate with his fellow exiles at such times as he had a divine communication to share with them.[136] From time to time God would commit to His Watchman a revelation which was to be passed on to the captives. Ezekiel was to preface every spoken word with Thus says the Lord (Ezekiel 3:27),

[136] The dumbness was therefore unlike that imposed on Zechariah the father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:20).

The silence of Ezekiel was to last for a limited time. When Jerusalem fell six years later the restraints were removed from the prophet (Ezekiel 33:22).[137] This was, to use the language of Taylor, ritual dumbness. Ezekiel did not suffer from catalepsy or some nervous disorder. Rather the idea is that he was to speak only when under a divine compulsion to do so.

[137] There are two references along the way to the prophet’s silenceEze 24:27 and Ezekiel 29:21.

The reaction of men to these God-given pronouncements would confirm men in their attitude toward God. Men would either hear and obey it, or they would ignore and despise it (Ezekiel 3:27). In the former case they would find grace and favor; in the latter, condemnation and judgment. By his preaching and non-preaching Ezekiel was again and again to confront his auditors with the life and death alternatives.